


Old Magic

by DarkBalance



Series: Adrinette April 2020 [23]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrinette April, Adrinette April 2020, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Marinette Dupain-Cheng Is a Mess
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-07
Updated: 2020-11-07
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:22:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,040
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27426409
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarkBalance/pseuds/DarkBalance
Summary: There was a strange magic, as old as anyone could remember: a single kiss can lead to one discovering their soulmate.Marinette had never expected to find her soulmate at the age of fourteen. She certainly did not expect that person to be Adrien Agreste.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Series: Adrinette April 2020 [23]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1697308
Comments: 10
Kudos: 156
Collections: Adrinette April 2020, The Palette Cleanse Challenge of November 2020





	Old Magic

**Author's Note:**

> I want to say another thank you to the beta readers for this piece, Khallofallorcs and Mini Noire on the MLB Fanworks server. You get a nice, neat work this time.
> 
> Day 25: cheek kiss

There had always been something that drew Marinette Dupain-Cheng to Adrien Agreste. Even when she thought she hated his guts, she had been drawn to him; she had been even angrier at herself for believing he was a bad person and still being attracted to him. But as the weeks passed and Marinette got to know her classmate better, she started to figure out that she liked him. Really liked him. She said "love," because it was easier to throw that word around instead of the ones that were a little more accurate: _curious, intrigued, fascinated, drawn, attracted, amazed, starstruck_. She couldn’t exactly go around talking about “the boy she admired.” That sounded kind of silly. So she told her friends she loved him even though she knew it wasn’t quite that yet, but felt like maybe it could be a lot more. Maybe.

But it also scared her. As much as Marinette loved the way her heart went _thump, thump, thump,_ and her body flushed and how everything in her very soul seemed to calm and shift and focus whenever Adrien was near, it also scared her because _what if this didn’t last?_ What if she felt like this now because science and biology and pheromones and _my God is he pretty!_ but when it was all said and done, Adrien Agreste was not the person for Marinette Dupain-Cheng? He wasn’t the one that destiny and magic decided she was supposed to be with for the rest of her life? What if _no one_ was that person?

And what if he was? What if she never moved past being tongue-tied, past stumbling and stuttering and never being able to form a coherent sentence? What if she could never gather the courage to ask him for a soulmate’s kiss? What if she could never move to the point in their relationship where it was even _reasonable_ to ask for a soulmate’s kiss?

Marinette would go in circles night after night, trying to convince herself that Adrien Agreste was worth it, that Adrien Agreste was _so not worth it._ It was so easy to get caught up into the cycle of thoughts that way, of what she could and could not do, of what she should and should not expect. It was exhausting, it was crazy, it was heartening, it was _maddening_.

And then there was Heroes’ Day. There was the day where she ran herself ragged trying to organize a picnic for the school at the very last minute because all of her friends were going out of their way to do actual heroic feats for the city: sitting down with the elderly, volunteering at hospitals, supporting the fire department. And what did Marinette do? She forgot that no one knew she was The Ladybug and brought a box of macarons from her parents’ bakery. Then stuck her foot in her mouth for good measure! But she got it done anyway and then her friends and classmates chipped in and made the picnic a party and all of the stress from that day just melted off. And then there was Adrien Agreste.

The way he looked. The way he smiled. The way the words sounded and felt as he called her their “everyday Ladybug,” and caused a giggle to swell and stay caught in her throat. And there was just something about that moment that spoke to Marinette, that told her that this is her moment, that if she just took a step forward and cupped his cheek, he wouldn’t move. If she leaned forward, tilted up onto her toes, he wouldn’t shake her off. That if she just pressed her lips to his cheek, it would be okay. So she did.

She did, and she suddenly understood _everything_. She understood why her heart beat the way that it did and why she could never take her eyes off of Adrien. She understood why even his corny jokes were funny. She understood… a lot of things.

Marinette didn’t expect to initiate a Soulmate’s Kiss. She had forgotten that any kiss could become a soulmate’s kiss, not just romantic mouth kisses. She had only been looking to thank Adrien for making the effort to organize the class to surprise her. She hadn’t been expecting to take anything away from him. As happy as Marinette felt, she also felt guilty, like she had stolen something precious that he wasn’t getting back. She felt like a disappointment.

Withdrawing from his face, Marinette hid behind her bangs, preparing to turn away, to run away and ask for forgiveness. Before she could get even an “I’m sorry” out of her mouth, Adrien’s hands gripped her wrists, holding them firmly, but not too tight to feel trapped. Marinette let him hold her, but didn’t look up. She didn't want to see the hurt, the anger, the disappointment in his face.

“Marinette?”

“I’m sorry,” she said. “I am so sorry, I didn’t mean to -- I wasn’t trying to --” One of the hands gripping a wrist let go, finding a place on her cheek instead. She felt pressure on the back of her neck, a silent request for her to look up, to face him. Marinette didn’t want to, _she wanted to so much._ “I’m sorry.”

“Marinette, look at me,” said Adrien. His voice was soft and soothing and still so, so kind. It clashed against everything Marinette expected. She looked up. Adrien smiled. He pulled on her neck, just a slight bit of pressure, drawing her into his chest. He placed a kiss of his own on her forehead and pulled away just enough to look her in the face again. “Hello.”

And there was the kindness and the warmth and the love and the stars in his eyes, the same way she had imagined, the same way she had rejected. The same way she knew she looked at him since that day in the storm when he gave her his umbrella. She smiled back automatically, her mouth moving without conscious thought on her part and without permission. In some part of her mind, she could hear her classmates ooh-ing and ahh-ing at their interaction, speculating and gossiping. Marinette couldn’t care about that right now.

“Hi, Adrien."


End file.
